Nighttime troubles
by LadyRoseofLiberty
Summary: Oscar turns to André for comfort on the night before she becomes the Commander of the Royal Guards.


**Author's note** : Secret Santa from the Amino app for a mutual on tumblr! The ideas for this fic were from the headcanons of Oscar and André's sleeping together when they were younger, and the idea of Oscar always calming down whenever she was under intense stress from her duties. For anyone still curious with the future for the Puella fic and Kuro fic, I guess they'll be on hiatus until I can find a way to juggle college and freetime. I'm really sorry about that.

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Oscar couldn't sleep that night. No matter how hard she tried, the nervousness of taking up her new role as the guard to the Dauphine, Marie Antoinette, still pervaded her mind. Oscar questioned whether she would perform her duties perfectly, will she be able to be skillful enough with the sword to ward off enemies, etc. She sighed and sat up from her sheets. It's true that she's happy at the task, but Oscar still couldn't help but be filled with doubts with how things were going to change from the normal humdrum of everyday life at the mansion. Especially when André was concerned.

Her best friend quickly became the subject of her late night-or was it early morning? - reflections, and her worries grew the more she thought on how their new roles will affect their friendship. Ever since he arrived at the mansion as a seven year old orphan, Oscar and André were almost always together, be it fencing, playing, or just resting when it came close to bedtime. _Especially_ at bedtime. When he started his new life at the mansion, André became anxious and had nightmares concerning the death of his mother. Because of this, André requested Oscar to sleep with him, as his nightmares lessened due to her presence. They would either play games, talk, or tell stories until the regret would settle when morning came. This became almost a nightly routine, to the point where young Oscar developed the habit of being more comfortable in his room than her own. With hers being spacious than André's, it became difficult for her to sleep because of the increased fear of the shadows turning into monsters that would gobble her up. So, whenever she went to André's room and admitted her reasons as to why she was there, he'd calm her down with either a hug, or a kiss on the forehead. He'd claim that it was a magic spell to give her sweet dreams.

As they grew older, Nanny and Oscar's parents came to the decision to separate them, as they considered Oscar and André "too old" to be sleeping together. (As well as the fact that their nighttime habit would be interpreted in more indecent terms.) Oscar chuckled when she recalled the moment when she and André sobbed uncontrollably with the news that they could no longer share a bed. It was so bad that Nanny, the General and Madame de Jarjayes had no other choice but to comply and allow Oscar and André to continue with the bedtime routine.

However, it was several months ago that the time they spent together was growing apart the more Oscar was focused with her training as the day to be Antoinette's guard drew near. She wanted to be independent, close off her heart and prove that she's more than capable of handling herself, so that's why she cut ties with her nighttime visits. Too late did she realized how dependent she was for André's company, his warmth and that nostalgic scent that she adored whenever she was with him.

Oscar felt like she needed his soothing presence more then ever. She felt like if her worries for her new duty weren't calmed, she'd become a nervous wreck come tomorrow. Oscar gripped the sheets of her bed before standing up and went straight towards his room-three doors down to her left.

Yet, once she was in front of the door, she hesitated. For a split second she tensed up, nervous about going to the room of her close friend despite the fact that they've done this many times before. Regardless, she knocked on the door in rapid succession.

After what felt like centuries, the knob turned and the door opened to reveal André, who was holding a small candle in his left while he opened the door with his other hand. By this point, his pony-tail was reduced to tousled dark hair that went past his shoulders. A few buttons on his nightshirt were undone but not enough to draw attention, although this detail had Oscar taken aback and do a double take on her friend's appearance. André stared at her in surprise and brought the candle a bit closer to see her better: Her hair was disheveled and her face was etched with worry.

"…Oscar." He muttered. So many questions ran through his head as the two stood there. Before he could even ask, Oscar spoke first, although he swore that her voice sounded strained.

"Can I come in?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

André let her enter and closed the door behind her. He was unsure why she wanted to visit him in the middle of the night. Unless…

"Can I sleep with you, just for tonight?" She asked abruptly. Oscar twisted, picked and crumpled at the sleeves of her nightgown while this question tumbled out of her mouth while André, ever observant, flicked his gaze towards her sleeves before returning to meet Oscar's eyes. For some reason, he felt like he couldn't breathe and that every vein in his being turned to ice. However, this feeling disappeared the moment he felt that his fingers dug into the palm of the hand that held the candle, which already had created rivulets of wax that streamed down and began to pool within the bobèche.

"S-sure." André walked to the small desk next to his bed, and set the candle there. The single flame danced erratically as it burned the wick and created an orb of light. It was the only light source that was being used in the mansion, for the moon wouldn't change her phase until tomorrow evening. André took up the candle snuffer and put out the tiny flame and left it there. His mother always told him that blowing out a candle would summon misfortune, as well as the fact of the odd smell that would pervade the room if that occurred. As though it were done out of habit, André went to his bed and shifted more towards the right side so as to give Oscar room to sleep, too. His wasn't large or cozy as Oscar's, but she never complained about it. Oscar entered the bed and snuggled up against the covers. She curled in her legs and back slightly as she made herself comfortable. She tucked her hands and arms so that her position was reminiscent of an infant. Strands of her blond hair were scrunched up or spread around the pillow. As for André, he merely rolled over to his side and loosely wrapped an arm around Oscar. He spread out his hair to the side so it wouldn't be too bothersome while sleeping. Of course, sleep did not come to either of them, and it wouldn't until Oscar revealed her troubles. While he slowly rubbed circles around her back, André decided to coax the reason out of her.

"Oscar," André started as he continued to try to calm her down. "Why did you come here?"

Oscar bit her lower lip and shifted her eyes to meet his, before she lowered them again and focused on the front of André's nightshirt instead. She felt her throat tighten when she thought about it and fought the urge to cry. Oscar breathed in deeply before she could put her fears in words.

"It's...It's about tomorrow. I'm… really nervous about it."

André halted when she spoke and he felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. Oscar looked up again to witness his reaction.

So that was why.

André continued gently rubbing her back and slowly worked his way up to her hair.

"I'm glad you said that, Oscar. To be honest, I was worried for you."

Oscar was taken aback by Andre's statement. She shouldn't have been surprised, she shouldn't. It was natural for her best friend and servant to worry about her well-being. That was his role since they first met. Why, then, did she felt like this was different? As though this took on a completely new meaning in their friendship? She didn't know the reason, but this unknown reason, combined with the realization that the end of her childhood and the burdens of adulthood were crashing down on her, made her want to cry. He noticed Oscar was on the verge of tears and proceeded to wipe them away with his thumb as his hand slid down to rest on her cheek. He gave her a smile. Ah, how she loved it when he smiled that way.

"Everything's going to be fine. I know you're going to be a wonderful guard to the dauphine." Then, he did something that only happened once when they were younger.

He pressed his lips to her forehead and let them stay there for a few seconds before he pulled away. The gesture was completely platonic but Oscar couldn't help but blush from the contact. "So you can have sweet dreams tonight." André murmured, before he let his hand rest on her back. Oscar smiled when she heard what she and André thought was a magic spell from way back when. Her eyes fluttered closed as she took solace in André's embrace once more and let herself go. André followed suit as he closed his eyes and gave a slight squeeze to the embrace, as a way to reassure Oscar that he'd be by her side no matter the troubles that would soon follow.

A few hours later, their childhood together was left behind, replaced by grown up responsibilities befitting for their ranks. Oscar protected the future queen of France, while she tried to push away her anxiety, as well as the dangers of court drama. André, on the other hand, followed her every step like a shadow, and did his best to protect her as a servant would. However, before they were plagued with stigmas these labels brought, Oscar and André merely slept as peacefully as when they were children in more innocent days.

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Vocabulary: bobèche – Defined by Merriam-Webster as a usually glass collar on a candle socket to catch drippings or on a candlestick or chandelier to hold suspended glass prisms.


End file.
